Legislator wants to prevent bear attacks

LIBBY — State Rep. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka, has reintroduced legislation he sponsored in 2013 that allocates money for nonlethal measures to reduce the impacts of grizzly bear and wolf predation on livestock in Montana.

Cuffe proposed similar legislation during the last legislative session. The bill passed but was eventually vetoed.

House Bill 145 this session would create a special account with an initial appropriation of $400,000 to be known as the livestock loss restricted special revenue account. The money would be used to compensate livestock owners for predation by wolves and grizzly bears.

Half of the money would be used, according to the bill, for “nonlethal, preventative measures.” 

One such measure that has proven to be effective, Cuffe said, is electrified grizzly-proof fencing. 

Cuffe said the impetus behind the bill is a long-standing desire to have the grizzly bear delisted as a threatened species.

Cuffe mentioned a case from some years ago in which a grizzly sow and her cub slaughtered dozens of sheep spread across three different ranches in Northwest Montana. “These bears are essentially marauding unchecked,” Cuffe said.

The situation with grizzly bears is a sticky one. Federal authorities have been actively trying to increase the bear population in the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem. When a bear attacks people or livestock, that bear is either removed or killed, decreasing the overall population and increasing repopulation efforts.  

Cuffe’s goal is to prevent the attacks, thereby eliminating the need for relocation and  compensation. The idea, Cuffe said, is “to avoid getting grizzlies killed or moved.”

“We need this management piece if we’re ever going to be able to delist the grizzly bear,” Cuffe said. “That’s my end game, to delist the grizzly.”

The bill passed both houses of the Montana Legislature in 2013 with broad support from a variety of groups. Cuffe said he had the support of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, farmers, ranchers and environmental groups.

Cuffe said the governor vetoed the bill because the Senate changed the funding source of the bill from the general fund to a more restricted account. While previous governors had allowed similar use of that restricted account, Bullock declined to do so.

This year Cuffe expects the bill to pass again and he hopes it will become law. He said his conversations have revealed no organized opposition to the bill and he anticipates the governor’s eventual support. “Last year’s issue was the source of the funding, not the notion of the bill,” Cuffe said.

The bill is scheduled for a hearing today at 3 p.m. before the House Committee on Agriculture.